An online term to describe software that, when downloaded, encrypts the contents of your hard drive. In this instance, encryption makes the data unreadable -- which is not a good thing so be careful of the software you download. Afterwards, the parties responsible for the ransomware software demand payment to decrypt your data. Basically it is Internet extortion and I hope it doesn't happen to you.

See also : data  revenge porn  hacker  
NetLingo Classification: Online Jargon